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Flood
Rate Relief in Sight
 Florida
Property Insurance Trends for Realtors
By Matt Lehn
Property Insurance in Florida seems like
it changes with the tides. The purpose of this email is to keep local
Charlotte and Sarasota County Realtors and Real Estate related
businesses up to date on the ups and downs of the local Property Insurance
market.
Flood Insurance- As of 8 pm on March 4th
the House of Representatives voted to pass a bill, called the
Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act . What does this mean?
•Prevents FEMA from raising the average rates
for a class of properties above 15% and from raising rates on individual
policies above 18% per year for virtually all properties.
• Refunds homeowners who overpaid – Requires
FEMA to refund policyholders for overpaid premiums.
• Repeals the property sales trigger – Repeals
the provision in Biggert-Waters that required homebuyers to pay the
full-risk rate for pre-FIRM properties (Built prior
to 1975 in most cases) at the time of purchase. This provision
caused property values to steeply decline and made many homes unsellable,
hurting the real estate market. Under the Menendez/Grimm Bill, homebuyers
will receive the same treatment as the home seller. Same rates.
• Repeals the new policy sales trigger –
Repeals the provision in Biggert-Waters that required pre-FIRM property
owners to pay the full-risk rate if they voluntarily purchase a new policy.
This provision disincentivizes property owners from making responsible
decisions and could hurt program participation. The Menendez/Grimm Bill
allows pre-FIRM property owners to voluntarily purchase a policy under
pre-FIRM conditions. Homeowners wont be penalized if they let their
policy lapse or change companies.
• Reinstates grandfathering – If
grandfathering was terminated, property owners mapped into higher risk
would have to either elevate their structure or have higher rates phased in
over 5 years. The Menendez/Grimm Bill allows grandfathering to continue and
sets hard caps on how high premiums can increase annually.
• Affordability goal – Requires FEMA to
minimize the number of policies with annual premiums that exceed one
percent of the total coverage provided by the policy.
What Now??? The Bill needs to be ratified
by the Senate. Once ratified, we can only hope for quick action by
the National Flood Insurance Program.
For more information on Flood or Property
Insurance contact Matt Lehn of Lehn & Vogt Insurance at 941-698-8877 or
by email matt@lehnandvogt.com
Lehn & Vogt Insurance
2980 S McCall Rd
Englewood, FL 34224
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